Remember the friend’s mom who always set out an extra plate. That’s a kind of family too.

Family is partly a legal fact and partly a question of who feeds you without being asked. Somebody laying an extra place without discussing it decided you counted, in a house where you had no claim, and that quiet inclusion does more than any formal arrangement would. The plate was a small thing that said something large.

If that house is still reachable, thank the person who did it, and be specific about the years rather than one dinner. Then set out the extra plate yourself, which mostly means being the one who says there is enough. Teenagers remember who fed them.